Adidas Chairman Thomas Rabe Re-elected Until 2025

Logo of Adidas brand is displayed on the store in the center of Warsaw, Poland, January 4, 2024. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Logo of Adidas brand is displayed on the store in the center of Warsaw, Poland, January 4, 2024. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
TT
20

Adidas Chairman Thomas Rabe Re-elected Until 2025

Logo of Adidas brand is displayed on the store in the center of Warsaw, Poland, January 4, 2024. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Logo of Adidas brand is displayed on the store in the center of Warsaw, Poland, January 4, 2024. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

A majority of Adidas shareholders backed the re-election of chairman Thomas Rabe at the company's annual general meeting on Thursday, securing his role for a fifth year, with the German sportswear brand set to appoint a successor in 2025.

Prominent proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) had recommended in April that investors vote against Rabe's reappointment due to what it argued was an "excessive" number of roles at other companies, Reuters reported.

Adidas said Rabe's reappointment would serve to ensure a smooth handover of the chairmanship, which he has held since 2020. Rabe is also CEO of German broadcaster RTL Group and CEO of media conglomerate Bertelsmann.

"The succession planning for the Supervisory Board as a whole and for myself as Chairman of the Supervisory Board are paramount for me," Rabe said in a letter to shareholders ahead of the AGM.

Adidas' executive pay was also approved in a shareholder vote, although Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the fifth-biggest shareholder in Adidas, voted against for the second year in a row.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Verstappen Snatches 'Insane' Pole for Japan GP in Track Record

Formula One F1 - Japanese Grand Prix - Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan - April 5, 2025 Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates after qualifying in pole position REUTERS/Manami Yamada
Formula One F1 - Japanese Grand Prix - Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan - April 5, 2025 Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates after qualifying in pole position REUTERS/Manami Yamada
TT
20

Verstappen Snatches 'Insane' Pole for Japan GP in Track Record

Formula One F1 - Japanese Grand Prix - Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan - April 5, 2025 Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates after qualifying in pole position REUTERS/Manami Yamada
Formula One F1 - Japanese Grand Prix - Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan - April 5, 2025 Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates after qualifying in pole position REUTERS/Manami Yamada

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen smashed the track record to snatch pole position for Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris, as Yuki Tsunoda qualified a lowly 15th in his Red Bull debut.

Verstappen clocked a blistering lap of 1min 26.983sec in his Red Bull, 0.012sec ahead of championship leader Norris, with McLaren's Oscar Piastri third.

Verstappen set a new Suzuka track record with his final lap in Saturday's qualifying, pipping Norris right at the death.

"Each session we kept making little improvements, then the last lap was flat out," said Verstappen, who has won the Japanese GP for the last three years.

"In a Formula One car around here is insane. This is a proper highlight for us to be back on pole here."

It was Verstappen's first pole position of the season, AFP reported.

The Dutchman is still looking for his first grand prix win of the new campaign.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was fourth ahead of Mercedes' George Russell, with Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli sixth and RB's Isack Hadjar seventh.

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton was eighth, followed by Williams's Alex Albon and Haas's Oliver Bearman.

Norris is looking for his second grand prix win of the season, after triumphing in the season opener in Australia.

He finished second behind Piastri in China a fortnight ago in a dominant start to the campaign for McLaren.

"I'm happy, congrats to Max, he did a good job," said Norris.

"You have to credit something when it is a lap that good that he must have done. I got everything out of the car today, the gaps are tiny.

"Good but not enough."

Tsunoda was eliminated in Q2 in a disappointing first qualifying drive for Red Bull after being promoted in place of Liam Lawson last week.

The Japanese driver finished one place behind Lawson, who returned to RB after just two races for Red Bull in a ruthless driver swap.